Eleanor
by 3k
Summary: A Frankenstein like tale, based after the events in Sonic Adventure 2. Tails' secret is out and turns against him. rated for violence in later chapters
1. Breakout!

_This fanfic is loosely based on the novel "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. The settings are based on the Sonic games only, not on any official comics or Sonic X. I love all the comics and TV shows about Sonic, but it's a lot more fun for me as a writer to invent my own version of events around the happenings in games. I don't own any of these characters, apart from Eleanor, but I reckon she really belongs to Tails, since he created her!_

Gingerly rubbing my head, I crawled into a seated position, staring gravely around the room. It was trashed, the crumpled remains of the Cyclone lying against the far wall.

"Ugh, wha?" I grunted dimly. Under the throbbing pain of my head the memories returned.

She's alive! She's-GONE-She's out there! She's dangerous-it wasn't supposed to be like that, she was supposed to help us-I never meant for her to hurt anybody! I must warn Sonic!

It was a crisp and clear morning in the Emerald Hill Zone. Autumn had tarnished the first leaves, and scurrying among the balding branches, a small grey squirrel sifted though the copper foliage for acorns. A soft boom in the distance caused it to pause, sniffing the air, tail twitching curiously. Its tufted ears pricked at the sound of rushing wind accelerating closer. With agile muscles tensed, it prepared to bolt.

Sonic the Hedgehog saw no more detail than the blur of trees when he dashed past the copse, laughing happily. It felt good racing though his old home without the harassment of robots. Those were scarce in most zones since his friends and a mysterious character named Rouge had defeated Robotnik on the space colony Ark. But Sonic still anticipated his return and trained himself. He ran on, following the path round a loop-the-loop obstacle. During Robotnik's early attempts at gaining all the Chaos Emeralds these were loaded with dangerous traps. Now they merely provided an opportunity to show off.

Speeding towards a second loop, he spied a familiar blue aircraft headed his way. He spun around the obstacle to gain momentum, leapt, and landed on top, one paw shielding his eyes against the sun as he peered at the approaching Tornado. He dropped into the loop once more, spinning and spinning around until enough thrust built up to send him soaring towards the biplane.

"Sonic!" Tails wailed in shock when the hedgehog landed with a thud on top of the Tornado's wing. The plane wobbled in protest.

"Hey T2!" he greeted. "S'up?"

Tails looked ashamed. "Sonic, I got something to tell you," he began in a small voice.

"What's going on, bro?" Sonic asked, crouching on the wing, turned to face his friend. Under his concerned gaze, Tails' courage failed.

"Sonic, she's escaped!" he blurted out.

"Huh!"

"I meant for her to help us but it went wrong and she escaped and maybe she's gonnah hurt somebody!" he cried, rushing through the sentence as one word. Sonic looked amply confused.

"Who?"

"I'll tell you on the way! We have to find her before she-before anything happens!" Tails resolved, returning his full attention back to the biplane.

"But, Tails, who are we looking for!"

"A robot."


	2. Guilty Conscious

A robot. Well I thought it'd be cool at the time. Things were pretty quiet after what happened on the Ark. Knux went back to the Floating Island to guard his emerald, Rouge returned to her job. I was busy in my workshop, repairing the damage to my Cyclone and Sonic, always impatient for action spent the days training. Sometimes it was lonely, hidden away in the secluded base unless I had something to work on.

Late one afternoon after a day's exploration in the forest, I discovered the remains of Robotnik's Egg Carrier Base. Just an empty shell now, but it looked ominous. I thought back to last year when Robotnik very nearly destroyed Station Square with a missile, and the damage that Chaos monster caused. With the Egg Carrier and that creature that healed itself and evolved with every Chaos Emerald it ate, Robotnik had seemed nearly impossible to defeat. Then later on the Ark when he nearly killed Sonic…our adversary became more powerful every time. Just we five might not be enough to stop him again. We'd need something more…maybe if I built something, something more powerful than any of Robotnik's robots. If we had a more powerful robot on our side then he wouldn't stand a chance against us!

At the time, it seemed like the perfect solution, to build a robot stronger, more intelligent, and faster than Robotnik's own. Convinced it was the right thing to do, I worked long hard hours, day and night. At first, parts were easy to build or find, or salvage from scrap. The one problem was finding a suitable fuel. To craft a robot better than Robotnik's I needed to outdo his solutions. This reminded me of the Ark again, where a yellow chaos emerald powered my Cyclone's main cannon, making it powerful enough to defeat Robotnik's Eggwalker. After our adventure on the space colony, Sonic and I were given the task of guarding all seven chaos emeralds. I could easily study the unique powers of each, to decide which was best for the robot. I still wanted the yellow emerald for the Cyclone, but I figured that with a little experimenting, a different emerald could still make my robot much stronger than Eggman's.

Soon, I found that the blue emerald, which was first discovered in a valley near the Mystic Ruins, gathered a slight electric charge when exposed to the wind. At first, I thought that it lost this when any other chaos emeralds were near, but more tests showed that only the light green emerald had this dampening effect. Somehow, I didn't understand what I could use this for, until much later. If I had, I might have realized how dangerous the robot could become. I was so determined to succeed that I hardly thought about what might go wrong. I couldn't wait to show my robot to Sonic, to show him what I could really do. I just wanted to impress him again, like when I made the fake chaos emerald. Sonic was really proud of me then, and I just blew it, letting Eggman trick me into telling him the emerald wasn't real. I was so ashamed; I just had to make it up to Sonic somehow. That's why nothing could stop me building the robot, especially when I was so close to finishing it. I soon found that the blue emerald retained its electrical charge if exposed to a constant breeze produced by an electric fan. Then I understood that all it needed was for the emerald to power the fan, and the robot could generate its own constant power supply. After that, I was so excited and anxious to get the robot finished; it didn't seem to take long at all.

All it needed now was a name, and I'd already thought of the perfect one. I would name it after my mother, she had a beautiful name.

I can't remember much about life with my parents before Robotnik's first attacks. They were terrified by reports they'd heard of Robotnik's fighting machines terrorizing the neighboring zones. My father had planned to take us in his plane to a forest on the other side of Mobius, where he hoped we'd be safe. Mom was afraid the robots would attack even as we prepared for the journey. She wrote the address we were traveling to, and our names on the back of a family photograph, and made me promise never to lose it, but to show it to an adult if we got separated. I was nearly five, and very scared by the stories the other kids told about the robots. I tucked the photo right into my shoe, where it couldn't possibly fall out, hugged my mom tight, and went to play with friends while my parents packed.

We were playing a game of hide and seek, when suddenly, flying robots that looked like giant wasps swarmed though the woods, firing guns in their tails. Frightened, we ran, crying and screaming among the trees and I soon lost sight of the others. I could still hear the massive metal insects buzzing behind me, so I flew up high above the trees, and out over the green fields beyond. I flew faster and further than I'd ever been before, driven by fear, until I was exhausted and lost in strange woodlands.

I wandered for a day, before more wasp robots chased me though hills and grasslands, where some super fast and blue streak smashed them into tiny pieces. Sonic! I had run from those robots for days, but he destroyed them in seconds. From that day on, he was my idol. He didn't know the forest my parents had fled to, but he promised to help me find them and that he would stop Robotnik. He protected and taught me, and soon I was smashing robots myself, and following my hero around the world, crushing Robotnik's Death Egg ship to dust and ceasing the awesome power of the seven Chaos Emeralds from his evil clutches.

Later, we built the Tornado, a plane just like the one my father built to fly his family to safety. On the search for my family, we were in for a surprise, and a terrible shock. We finally found the secret forest flying high in Mobius' skies, on the magnificent Floating Island. Imagine that; a miniature world, with its own terrain of mountains, valleys, seashores and rivers ending in giant waterfalls which cascaded down to the mainland. It thrilled and fascinated me. I was full of hope and excitement that I might see my family again. As we moved in to land, Sonic leapt from the plane, activated the Chaos Emeralds and skimmed past on the water as Super Sonic, showing off. He raced onto the island ahead of me, and then disaster struck. Knuckles the Echidna, tricked onto Robotnik's side attacked, stealing our chaos emeralds.

Robotnik's Death Egg hadn't been destroyed at all, but had crash landed on the same island. His robots littered the landscape, and in the forest there was no sign of my parents or any other creature except those enslaved in machines by Robotnik. We had to abandon the search and begin a desperate fight against Knuckles and our arch nemesis, and I never learned what became of my family. I still believe they are out there somewhere, hidden away safe from Robotnik, and that one day, we will be reunited.

My mother's name is Eleanor, and I named my robot after her in the hope that my creation could help us finally defeat Robotnik for good, and that every family separated by his tyranny could be reunited.

I guess I built it to be some like of champion. What it turned out to be was a savage animal. Using blueprints for the E-series robots, stolen from Robotnik's computers, I'd created my robot with enough intelligence to learn, but not to follow any master. I hate the way Robotnik's robots are nothing more than his slaves. I thought I could teach Eleanor. But the Chaos Emeralds and their power were all she wanted to know. I guess it was something about the chaos emerald inside of her, which drove her to furiously seek union with the other gems.

In the first instances after her activation, she leapt for the sack containing the Chaos Emeralds, less the one in my Cyclone, and the one powering her actions. I leapt after her, struggled against her surprising strength and grabbed the sack. Remembering the light green emerald, I pulled it out and held it aloft in front of her. At first, the green energy held her paralyzed, but she fought and struggled against it, managing to pull out of range. She pounced on the Cyclone, ripping and tearing at the metal, trying to find the yellow emerald inside. As I pursued her with the green chaos emerald, she whirled around, sensing my approach. She lashed out with speed and strength, her claw tipped arm collided with my chest, sweeping me across the room to crash into the far wall, where the room faded into darkness and pain. By the time I recovered, she was gone and I knew I had to warn Sonic.


	3. Bump in the Night

"But she just left the emeralds?" Sonic asked, glancing at them in the seat behind Tails.

"I guess she was afraid because of the green one. Maybe she doesn't know it's the only one that can stop her, I can't tell." Tails suggested, forlornly. As they searched for Eleanor, he had related the story of her creation and escape to Sonic.

"But the emerald didn't stop it, it resisted!" he argued, avoiding the robot's name, and Tails' tendency to personify it as a she. He'd never met Tails' mother, but he'd learned from what Tails could remember that she was kind, strong and brave. She surely didn't deserve to have a vicious, emerald crazed robot named after her.

"It slowed her down, at least! Maybe it's because the blue emerald is constantly charged by her fan now, that she can resist the other emerald's power," Tails explained. "I wish I knew where she's gone," he added, sadly.

"Well we haven't seen a sign of it for hours and I'm hungry!" Sonic complained. "Let's go back to the base, maybe it returned there, after all."

Tails sighed unhappily." Okay, I guess…Sonic?"

"Hrrm?"

"I'm sorry. I never thought this would happen." He gazed up at his hero with large, sorrowful blue eyes. The hedgehog's frown softened.

"Hey, it's okay. We'll catch your robot soon, and maybe you can fix it up again afterwards, and find out how to control it, yeah!" he proclaimed, grinning.

"I guess," Tails returned gloomily. It would hurt to see his robot damaged after everything he'd worked so hard to achieve with her. If it really was the only way…He whimpered softly, turning the plane around, headed back to the Mystic Ruins.

When Tails' plane landed, a small pink and red streak rushed out to meet them.

"Sonic!" Amy wailed, leaping towards him. Startled, he caught her. She was shivering.

"Amy!" he cried, setting her down. "What happened?"

Amy's wild, frightened eyes swiveled round to Tails' base for a moment, and then she keened softly and shrank behind Sonic.

"The robot?" Tails asked, staring up at her and Sonic on the wing from the cockpit. Amy met his eyes and nodded fearfully.

"It came to Station Square, it tried to get into the Chao Gardens!" she told them. Tails gasped, his eyes widening in horror. He thought to the Chao, tiny, chubby soft creatures with big shiny innocent eyes. Eleanor had blank robot eyes which glowed red at the centre, and long razor sharp claws. Tails grimaced; fighting away the awful images that his hyper-active imagination threatened to conjure.

"It's alright!" Amy exclaimed, seeing her friends' horror. "The police arrived before it broke in, and scared it away with their guns. I thought I'd find you here, so I came to warn you. But that robot was here instead, I saw it coming out of the aircraft hanger. I don't know what it wanted, but it's a real mess in there. It was horrible," she shuddered. "Red eyes and claws like…" she gestured with her hands, describing the shape and length. "But it looked strange-not like any of Eggman's robots I've ever seen before!"

"It's not one of Eggman's robots," Sonic said, frowning at Tails.

"D'you think it's still around here?" the kitsune asked. Amy shook her head, no.

"It might have been looking for the Chaos Emeralds!" she gasped. "When I saw it, it flew away somewhere, really high until I couldn't see it anymore. D'you think it went to the Floating Island, after the Master Emerald?" Amy asked. She stared at Sonic, watching his frown deepen and his spines bristle. Tails hung his head, like he was ashamed of something.

"Tell her, Tails, then we'll go check on Knux. I'll get some food and you get the plane ready for another flight." He hopped from the wing and disappeared into Tails' house.

"Sonic?" Tails murmured, staring after his friend. His ears flattened, and his eyes brimmed with tears. He knew Sonic had good reason to be angry, but surely he understood that Tails hadn't meant for things to go this way. He winced, feeling a paw grasp his shoulder. Amy had gotten down from the wing and she stood beside the cockpit, her big emerald green eyes full of confusion and concern.

"Tails, are you alright? What's going on?"

"I built the robot," Tails told her, ashamed. "I thought she would help us fight Eggman, but I guess she's got her own ideas." Tails got out to check over the Tornado.

"Why didn't you program it to obey your commands?" Amy asked

"Because I wanted her to be more than just a slave. Besides, don't you remember what happened with the E-series robots? You said one of them broke its programming and rescued you from Eggman!"

Amy nodded. "So what went wrong?"

"I don't know!" Tails wailed. "She's attracted to chaos energy! It's like she's trying to become more powerful!"

Amy gasped. "Can robots turn super?" she asked, wide eyed.

"It shouldn't be possible. But I guess I don't know everything about chaos emeralds," Tails told her. Sonic returned, carrying a sack full of snacks.

"All set?" he asked, handing Tails the sack and leaping back atop the wing.

"I'm coming too!" Amy insisted, ceasing the seat behind the cockpit and setting the chaos emerald sack on her lap. Sonic shrugged.

"Sure!" he told her. He still remembered the last time he and Tails had left Amy alone on the Ark, when her kidnapping by Eggman nearly jeopardized the hero's plans to save Mobius.

Dark thunderclouds gathered overhead, where Knuckles rested beside the Master Emerald. The gem sparkled in its full size glory to his left and to his right was a flight of large stone stairs. Beyond this there were caves leading to the ruins of an ancient echidna city. Not so long ago, he had seen the city's majestic temples equal the emeralds beauty, when he had traveled back in time and met Tikal. All that remained in his lifetime were abandoned ruins; the echidna race was long gone. But Knuckles didn't mind the solitude, it was peaceful. Visitors always meant trouble, threatening his emerald. Twice recently, it had shattered to pieces and he'd nearly lost some precious fragments in outer space. Now he guarded the gem religiously, day and night, sleeping when necessary at its base. Guarding the emerald was his sacred duty and he was determined not to fail it again.

Thunder rolled overhead. Hidden in the shades, a figure waited in the caves. She watched the echidna snuggle against the base of the emerald, where its diamond shape stretched out high above him, providing shelter for the night. The cave she crouched in was damp and drafty, but a good night's sleep was the least of her concerns tonight. She would wait and remain vigilant for the right time to act.

Knuckles awoke, instantly alert. He knew it wasn't just the storm that had woken him. There was something moving in the shadows on the other side of the emerald. He got to his feet and crept towards the intruder, being careful to keep quiet.

Suddenly, the shadows leapt and landed on the echidna, rolling him away from the emerald's light. He couldn't see the attacker plainly because his eyes were still half dazzled from the emerald green fluorescence. The storm clouds covered all other light sources, and he struggled blindly, attempting to get free. He flipped the attacker onto its back and felt cold claws digging into his sides. Grimacing, he lashed out to find the creature's face, but his claws slipped randomly, finding no purchase. He growled and rolled, forcing himself away from the thing's claws. He stood squinting at the darkness, panting with rage and pain.

He heard footfalls in the direction of the caves, and hurried towards the sound. Behind him, the shadows leapt once more, striking him to the ground. He rolled and wrestled with the creature, determined to get it away from the emerald and finish the fight. His fists lashed out and he roared triumph when he felt them strike something twice and hard. But there came no cries of pain from the attacker. Claws gripped the echidna's arms and an iron-like strength forced him onto his back. He struggled as the creature held him pinned, and when the grip loosened on one arm, he raised a fist to protect his face, fearing that it would strike at his eyes. As he wrenched desperately for freedom, the lightening flashed overhead, and he saw the light shine off a metallic claw raised above his throat. In an instant, he remembered where he'd seen such a thing before and the recollection gave him strength to hoist himself away from the creature.

"Rouge!" he screamed, at the creature's silhouette. Outside, the lightening flashed again, accompanied by a loud retort like a gunshot. Steel coloured claws swung blindly in surprise and fear, connected with the echidna's head quite by accident. But surprise only aided the attacker's strength. Knuckles screamed, feeling a sickening crunch and crashed to the cave floor, staring out towards the emerald. The last thing he glimpsed before consciousness drifted away was the unmistakable curvy silhouette with bat wings slowly flapping behind it, bathed in green emerald light.


	4. Rough Justice

Rain lashed the tornado's wings on the ground below. Tails had landed when the storm rolled in and now he, Sonic and Amy sheltered in a nearby cave. The hedgehogs slept soundly, but Tails lay wide awake, a little afraid of the storm. He had watched it progress over the nearby Floating Island, each flash silhouetting the majestic miniature continent in a stunning display of light and shadow.

Now that the rain was falling faster, it seemed that the thunderstorm was over. Tails rolled over to try and sleep, but then a movement in the sky caught his eye. He sat up, staring out at the Floating Island, feeling a cold chill creep over his spine. The island was rocking and shaking as if there was an earthquake. Suddenly, he realised what this really meant.

"Sonic! It's going to fall!" he shrieked in terror, startling his friends awake.

"Hey, whoah! Tails! Chill!" Sonic cried, shaking and rubbing his sleep-dazed head.

"What's happening?" Amy asked, groggily peering around. "Is it morning already?"

"Look!" Tails chocked, pointing a fearful finger.

Outside, the entire island shook one final time then dropped. It fell faster than its own waterfalls which sprayed out sideways for an instant, caught in the velocity of the fall. Finally, the island landed, jarring the hills with a rippling thud which knocked the watchers to their hands and knees in the cave, where the walls shuddered and shards of stones and dust rained down.

"Sheesh!" Sonic lamented, as the vibrations faded away.

"Does this mean Eleanor has the emerald?" Amy asked, staring out at the fallen landmass. The island lay in a heap of crumpled rocks and soil. As the rain poured down regardless, the rivers swollen by storm water cascaded over new terrain, carving fresh courses.

"Where's Knuckles?" Tails wondered.

"Let's find out!" Sonic declared, starting towards the cave entrance. Amy went to join him, brushing the dust from her dress.

"Sonic, we can't fly in this rain!" Tails complained. "We'll have to wait out the storm, then go and see."

Sonic clicked his fingers in annoyance and stamped his foot. Tails expected a harsh reproach, but the hedgehog simply ignored him and sat down at the cave entrance, wearing a soar expression. Amy sat herself down bedside Tails and offered him a hug.

"Don't worry!" she whispered. "It'll be okay, you'll see. Sonic will stop the robot, no matter what!"

Tails shivered. He knew she was only being brave to comfort him. Amy could easily forget her own fear to comfort her friends. He wished he could do the same. He wished he could believe her. How could everything go so wrong when he'd tried so hard? All he wanted was to make things right. He just hoped it wasn't too late.

By early morning, the storm clouds had cleared to leave fresh blue skies. Sunlight glinted off the rain soaked Tornado as it landed beside the emerald altar.

"It's gone!" Amy gasped, staring at the empty space where the emerald normally rested.

"NO!" Tails wailed, racing up the staircase to inspect the scene. "Maybe Knuckles took it somewhere?" he suggested feebly to Amy and Sonic, as they joined him.

"What, and leave his island to just crash down anywhere?" Sonic growled, folding his arms over his chest.

"You were watching the island the whole time, Tails, didn't you see anything strange?" Amy asked. Tails shook his head.

"It was hard to see anything much though all the rain," he explained.

"Maybe he's still around here somewhere!" Amy declared. She skipped down the stairs and then raced towards the caves, calling the guardian's name. The boys followed more slowly, locked in silent conflict. Sonic avoided Tails' troubled eyes by staring blankly ahead, but the kitsune knew he was angry. Of course, he had good reason to be. Tails realised now that he should have told him about Eleanor before, even if Sonic then forced him to stop his experiments. At least they could have avoided this.

Amy's cries jolted them both from their reverie. They exchanged a glance and raced to her aid. Tails feared that she'd been attacked by his robot, but the caves were silent apart from Amy's voice softly whimpering Knuckles' name. Tails met Sonic's gaze again and they entered the cave together.

"He's so…hurt." Amy whimpered to them. She knelt by the fallen echidna, weeping softly, and stroking his quills. Tails staggered, feeling faint. He clawed at the cave wall with one paw, trying to steady himself. In those first frozen, shocked movements, he felt no guilt that his creation may have caused this, nor grief, just cold, paralysing numbness. When Sonic joined Amy to comfort her, the movement woke Tails from his dazed trance. He drifted over beside his hero.

"Amy?" the whisper came dry, horse and groggy. The pink hedgehog gasped. Suddenly, the dry sand underfoot rustled as Knuckles tried to get up.

"Don't…Be careful!" Amy cautioned him. "Sonic!"

"Take it easy, Knux!" he exclaimed.

"Rouge!" the echidna cried, remembering. He hoisted himself up on one elbow, grunting with the effort.

"Sssh!" Amy exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

"She's not here," Sonic added.

"My emerald!" Knuckles yelled, pulling against Amy with surprising strength.

"It's okay!" she cried. "Knuckles, please calm down, you're hurt!" He struggled some more, but his sides stung and ached where the claws had sunk in, so he subsided, and let Amy help him to his feet.

"She was going to steal my emerald!" he wailed to Amy.

"It's okay, we'll help you!" Amy replied, hugging him. She looked to Sonic for support.

"We've gotta get you down to Mobius. Those wounds need treating," he told Knuckles.

"The emerald can heal me," the echidna growled. "I can get that far."

"It's gone," Tails muttered, softly.

"WHAT?" Knuckles roared, tearing free from Amy. He staggered to the cave mouth, staring out in disbelief at the hole where his emerald had been.

"Rouge!" he screamed in frustration.

"Knuckles!" Amy was suddenly by his side, and she grasped his paw. "We'll find it for you, I promise!"

He glared into her wide, tear stained face and saw her distress, hope and conviction. He sighed loudly, subdued.

"My emerald!" he lamented. The others couldn't possibly understand how much it hurt him to be separated from it. As its guardian, he was piously bound to the gem and without it, he felt weak and drained.

"We'll get it back, Knux! You can count on us!" Sonic assured him.

"I can't rest until I know that the emerald is safe," Knuckles sighed.

"We'll find it, don't worry!" Amy pleaded. "Please believe me!"

The guardian took one last pining glance at the hole left by his absent emerald, then nodded to Amy. He let her lead him back to the Tornado.

Tonight, yesterday's storm was forgotten, and the clear night's sky twinkled with stars. Amy, Sonic and Tails set up camp for the night beside a small copse. The evening's search had been fruitless of both robot and emerald and left them confused an exhausted. If Eleanor had the master emerald, surely they should be ware of an attack, but she seemed to have disappeared. Knuckles insisted it was Rouge who'd stolen his emerald, and that didn't make sense either. It had seemed that she'd gained respect for Knuckles on the Ark and accepted that the emerald was rightfully his.

"You don't think the robot will attack in the night, do you?" Amy fearfully asked Sonic, snuggling closer to him by the campfire.

"If it does, there's never been a robot built that could defeat Sonic the Hedgehog!" he exclaimed proudly, grinning at her. She didn't cheer up.

"It was horrible…when I saw Knuckles. I thought he was… I thought he was dead!" she whimpered, dampening Sonic's chest with her tears. He frowned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Usually, he pushed her away when she tried to cuddle too close, but to do so now would be cruel. She'd had a nasty shock, well they all had. Back in the caves there, he'd thought the same as Amy until Knuckles spoke. He and Knuckles hadn't always got along, but it had scared him to see the powerful and strong echidna injured so badly. Sonic still hadn't actually seen Tails' robot, but it'd made a real mess of his Mystic Ruins base and from his description, it might have been able to defeat Knuckles. But he still insisted it was Rouge who'd stolen his emerald. _How hard did the echidna hit his head anyway? Was it possible that he'd become so confused he mistook a robot for Rouge? _Sonic's frown deepened. That didn't sound right, there must be more to this that he didn't know about. _We'll have to find Rouge, _Sonic realised._ She'll have to have some answers._ Amy had fallen asleep in his arms and he settled down to sleep himself, glad of her extra warmth now the fire was burning out.

On the other side of the fire, Tails tossed and turned uselessly. On one side he was too hot, on the other too cold, and he couldn't sleep anyway. He was still worried that Eleanor might attack in the night and he was chilled by what he'd witnessed in the caves. He'd shared Amy's fears, but once the numbness had worn off, he felt much worse, because he blamed himself. It was his robot, after all, running out of control, brutally attacking his friend, stealing the master emerald, creating havoc in the city. He still didn't know how to stop her and felt very small and afraid.

Tails froze, hearing something move in the darkness. Instantly he thought of Eleanor and moved to wake Sonic. Suddenly, something soft grabbed him from behind, gagging his mouth with a paw. Rouge!

"Stop squirming, fox-boy, I'm not here to hurt you!" she grunted in a hushed whisper. "We've got to talk about Eleanor. Will you scream?"

Tails shook his head, so she removed the paw. "You know about her?" he cried.

Rouge scoffed. "Half of Mobius knows about her by now. The incident at the chao gardens was all over the news yesterday." Tails hung his head.

"But I know more about her than most. Are you aware you've been the subject of a secret government investigation for some time?" Rouge smiled at his bewilderment. "We saw you rummaging though Eggman's old bases for parts and we wondered what you were up to. Those places are out of bounds to civilians," Rouge told him, watching his expression. "They might be dangerous, understand?"

"You spied on me!" Tails cried angrily. Rouge tried to hush him. "Why didn't you stop me?" he added in a smaller voice.

"We have access to your computer files on the robot. We knew your intentions for building her. And, after meeting you on the Ark, I thought you could do it. Build a robot strong enough to combat Eggman, I mean. So I was assigned to watch you, and I was equally to blame if it went wrong. So it's not just your friends' lives you've screwed up with this robot!" She spat the last words out, glaring at the dying embers of the fire.

"Rouge, I'm sorry!" Tails began.

"Save it! We're both answerable to the police or higher authority if we don't stop this robot," she growled.

"Rouge?" Tails asked timidly, after a pause. "Does everyone know it's _my_ robot?"

Rouge shook her head. "That information is still top secret. Naturally, the public think Eggman's behind the attack and they trust that Sonic will save them as usual. If it gets out that _you _built the robot, it would cause _more_ panic and other problems."

Tails hung his head. He'd never imagined that his experiment could have such repercussions. But something still confused him.

"So what happened on the Floating Island?"

"Your robot went after the master emerald, of course and I followed her. She attacked Knuckles and they fought into the caves, where I shot at her from outside and she fled. I was ordered to cease the emerald, which is now in a secure location she cannot penetrate," Rouge told him.

"But you knew what would happen if the emerald was taken from the island!" Tails shouted.

"Quiet! Of course I knew, fox-boy, I had no choice. They wouldn't listen. Would you rather Eleanor had it instead!" Rouge screamed at him in hushed tones, her voice barely above a whisper. She glanced back and forth between Tails and Sonic, convinced that the hedgehog could wake at any moment if Tails didn't stop shouting.

"Why didn't you help Knuckles?" he growled softly.

He can take care of himself, can't he? I had to help secure the emerald, and then I was up all night trying to track down that robot!"

"He was really hurt…she…she could have killed him!" Tails told her, angry and hurt. He was also suspicious of her story, some of it didn't quite check out.

"Knuckles says he saw you stealing the emerald on your own, and he thought it was you who attacked him."

"He might have seen me by the emerald after the robot fled," Rouge shrugged. Tails frowned at her, but she offered no further explanations. She watched the fire embers while she slowly warmed her hands over them and seemed to contemplate something.

"Is Knuckles okay?" she asked Tails eventually.

"He'll be alright. No thanks to you!" Tails grumbled.

"I did stop Eleanor as soon as I had a clear shot, you know. I didn't know that she hurt him that badly."

"Where is his emerald?" Tails demanded. Rouge's outstretched fists clenched above the fire.

"I can't tell you that until the robot is under control," she said flatly.

"Then I think you'd better leave," Tails grumbled. He was angry that Rouge had spied on him and that she wouldn't help when she could.  
"Can't do that," Rouge replied coldly. "Got to make sure you deactivate this robot, you see."

"LEAVE!" Tails screamed. Rouge winced as Sonic turned over and awoke. He usually woke up grumpy. Now, in the middle of the night, with the first thing he saw upon waking being Rouge, he woke up furious.

"You!" he cried, launching himself over the fire to grab her.

"Get off!" she screamed back, struggling to pull her wrists free from his grasp.

"Not until you tell me what happened on the Floating Island!" Sonic growled.

"I just told fox-boy, ask him!" Rouge cried indignantly.

"Eleanor did it!" Tails told Sonic.

"What about the emerald then, who took that!" Sonic demanded.

"Rouge did! And she ain't telling where she hid it!" Tails told him.

Rouge wrenched one paw free from Sonic, growled savagely at Tails then swiftly drew her steel digging claws under his hero's throat, drawing him close by the paw he still held her by. The action was almost pure reflex and almost startled even her.

"Listen to me," she growled, clasping her fingers tight around his wrist. "The emerald is perfectly safe, until this robot is under control. Then I shall return it to its rightful owner and not before, got it!"

"You're lying!" Tails cried, terrified by the look in Rouge's eyes. She turned to face him, snarling. Her pointed teeth glinted in the dim firelight, her grip tightening around her hostage's wrist, with the claws on her free hand poised ready to cut. Tails didn't dare risk an attack like that. On the other side of the fire, Amy awoke and screamed.

"Get away! You stole the master emerald, you nearly killed Knuckles! Haven't you done enough?" she screamed at Rouge._ WHAM!_ Amy had thrown something at her from the opposite side of the fire. A stone, still warm from its close proximity to the embers. "No. you won't hurt my Sonic!" she wailed, hurling another missile. Rouge pressed her claws closer.

"Amy, don't!" Sonic grunted though his clenched teeth. The fear in his eyes showed what he expected of Rouge if Amy angered her anymore. It was worse than a verbal accusation. Rouge let out a wail of frustration. It'd all gone too far. Here she was, protesting her innocence by holding another victim at claw point. Now nobody would believe her story, even though it was the truth. She should have left Tails alone when he told her to leave, but the remaining fire had felt so warm and comforting, and she was bitterly tired and cold. She hadn't slept since she'd lost the robot on the Floating Island, and had been searching for it ever since. If only Tails hadn't woken Sonic. She'd trusted his engineering skills and let him build the robot; surely he owed her a little tolerance, and should have listened to her side of the story. Well, she had everyone's attention now, but that wasn't going to help when the situation was out of control and no one would believe her.

"I know what you're thinking," she said softly, so only Sonic could hear. "A thief I may be. But I only took the emerald to ensure its and our safety. I barely even saw Knuckles last night; it was the robot that attacked him. And even if you'll _never _believe me, I'm telling you…I'm sorry he was hurt."

Rouge held his stare. Her eyes showed anger, frustration, but no sign of dishonesty. Even sadness and a little hurt showed though the wrestling emotions on her face. Sonic's grip loosened and she was gone, black wings carrying her away into the darkness.

"Soniiic!" Amy wailed, rushing to his side.

"Are you alright?" Tails gasped, staring after Rouge.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, rubbing his chin. "Amy!" he grumbled irritably. "Knock it off, can't you, you're soaking me!"

Amy chocked back the tears and hiccupped. She grasped his paws so that they faced each other. "I thought she was gonnah… hic! Gonnah…hic!" she mumbled. She stared back at Sonic with tear filled eyes, hiccupping. Sonic sighed and gently squeezed her paw. He tuned to Tails.

"Still think it was Rouge who attacked Knuckles?"

"Don't you?"

"Nah."

"It was Eleanor then," Tails lamented, avoiding Sonic's stare. "Rouge was spying on me, y'know. Trying to decide if Eleanor was dangerous."

Sonic frowned. "Why didn't you tell me about the robot before?"

"I thought I could do it. I thought I'd be able to control her," Tails muttered. "Rouge did too, that's why she didn't stop me!" he added quickly, as though it would aid his defence. "Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you still angry at me?" Tails asked, timidly. "You know I never wanted any of this to happen, right? I only created her to help us. I'm sorry for everything she's done."

"I ain't mad at yah. It's just too bad the way things turned out. It woulda been cool having Eleanor on our side."

"Yeah," Tails sighed, crawling back into his sleeping bag. "Eggman's robots wouldn't stand a chance against her!"

Sonic grinned. "You're some kind of genius, kid, that's for sure!"

Later, while Amy and the troubled young kitsune slept, Sonic got up, carefully draped a blanket over Amy and threw another log on the fire. Someone ought to be on guard in case of any more trouble and as the oldest and most experienced hero, he seemed qualified. Besides, he couldn't sleep now without being sure his friends were safe. As he watched and waited, a slight movement caught his eye in the shadows. It might have been a trick of the firelight, but still…He got to his feet, squinting into the woods.

_Thud_! Some object hit him on the back of the head. He spun around, glaring at the darkness. He heard the flutter of leathery wings and saw that the object had landed by the fire. It was a large screwed up ball of paper. Curious, he rescued it from the flames and unravelled it. It was a map of a military base, leading to the master emeralds secret location. On the back was a hastily scrawled message:

_Attack the vault at noon tomorrow. I'll disable the security for ten minutes only - Rouge XXX._

Sonic frowned at the message, absent-mindedly rubbing his throat. First she threatened him, now she was offering favours? Obviously the message was meant for him alone, from the look of the map, no-one else could manage that in ten minutes. Naturally, he thought he could do it faster than that, but the thought of a trap crossed his mind. _But what could she gain?_ He had nothing she wanted and neither did his friends, so far as he knew. He thought again about the look in her eyes when she had pleaded her innocence that last time. Maybe she deserved a chance.


	5. So you lost your trust

Sonic raced towards Tails' Mystic Ruins base, following the screams.

"Amy!" he screamed back, bursting though the front door. He'd fallen asleep whilst on guard and now the robot had kidnapped Tails and Amy. It was like the Ark all over again…

_Ssskrittt_

Sonic launched himself forward, missing one pointed robotic foot by seconds. He growled in frustration then glanced into the room beside him. He gasped in horror.

"Tails!" he wailed. The kitsune was badly injured and scratched, lying unconscious imprisoned in the master emerald. The gem at full size rested in the cockpit of his battered Cyclone. Numbly, Sonic padded into the room, hardly believing what he saw. He placed a paw on the glowing green emerald.

"Aggh!" He drew back in pain and confusion. It had _burned _him. He paused, unsure what to do.

"Sonic!"

Amy's wail of fear and pain sent him charging back out of the room towards the Tornado garage. Except he couldn't get there fast enough. Suddenly the air seemed thick and foggy. He gasped and chocked his way forward. Voices from all sides chanted his name, mockingly echoing Amy's screams and smoke stung his eyes.

"Shut up!" he cried, staggering against a wall. "Stop it!"

Echoes surrounded him now, voices yelled: Sonic, Sonic, Sonic. Chocking back the smoke, he gazed up at the wall supporting him. Half way up; sharp claws had scratched and torn the plaster, forming a message, or a threat:

SEE YOU SOON

His eyes widened and he chocked, feeling the smoke burn his throat. The voices persisted, braying his name over and over, getting louder and louder. The echoes hurt his head, the smoke dazed him and the floor lurched violently, threatening to spill him over. He knelt down, tried to steady it with a paw, clutched the other to his throbbing head and screamed.

"Sonic!" a louder voice wailed. He felt paws grasping his arms and struggled-then stared around. He was still at the campsite, covered in ash. Tails and Amy released their grip.

"What!" he asked, confused.

"You were having a nightmare and you were sleepwalking!" Amy told him. "You nearly crawled into the campfire and it's still hot in the centre there! Are you okay?"

"Yeah…"Sonic murmured, staring at the crisp smouldering remains of the campfire. The flames had gone out some time ago, but the blackened wood in the middle was still glowing red at the base.

"We kept calling your name, but you wouldn't wake up and you kept yelling and struggling. Whatever happened in the dream?" Tails asked.

"The smoke was in my dream…"Sonic said hazily. "And these voices calling my name over and over."

Tails laughed. "That's what you get for scoffing too much junk food before bed!"

"Ha, ha." Sonic stated dryly. "You weren't there. You were in it, but you shoulda seen it. Sheesh." He shuddered.

"What you need is a good breakfast!" Amy declared, rummaging in Tails' sack of food. "D'you wanna talk about it?" she asked, fiddling with a small camping stove.

Sonic related the tale of his dream, while the delicious smells of Amy's cooking wafted around the campsite. Tails frowned and shook his head.

"It was just a dream, Sonic. You can't trap anyone inside a chaos emerald."

"Chaos was!" Sonic replied.

"That's different. Chaos was made of chaos energy, and water, I suppose. The emerald's solid, all the way through. How could I get inside?" he asked, grinning. His fluffy wagging tails betrayed his hidden laughter.

"We still have to get that emerald back!" Sonic stated, indignantly. He couldn't explain to them how real and how terrifying the dream had seemed. They didn't understand how it felt, failing to protect them, failing to save them. He frowned at the spitting fire.

"But we don't know where Rouge took it!" said Tails, sitting beside him. Sonic rummaged in his sleeping bag and drew out the crumpled map.

"She gave me this while you were sleeping last night. That's where the emerald is." he told Tails, showing it to him.

"It could be a trap," his friend replied, warily.

"Could be our best chance to get that emerald back," Sonic returned, accepting the bacon sandwich which Amy proffered. "Ten minutes? I'll be outtah there in three!"

"What'll we do about Eleanor?" Amy asked.

"We may be able to track her with a chaos emerald, if she isn't too far away. Perhaps I can build some kind of device to help," said Tails, already designing something in his head. "Sonic can use the green emerald if we have to fight her."

Amy sighed. "You guys'll send me home again, won't you?" Her pleading eyes focused on Sonic's. He chewed his breakfast thoughtfully, while Tails eagerly scribbled something on the ground using a sliver of blackened wood.

"I want to stay with you this time, Pleeeease!" Amy continued. She batted her eyelashes with her hands clasped in front her chest, attempting to look as cute as possible, but the object of her attention seemed lost in his own thoughts. She whimpered.

"Alright." Sonic said, finally.

"WHAT!"

"I said okay, you can stay. There's a dangerous robot on the loose, it could show up anywhere. You're best off sticking with us."

Amy squealed in delight, throwing her arms around him. "It'll be so much fun! I'll make breakfast for you everyday!" she shrilled. As she bantered on, Sonic wriggled free to tend to the campfire, wondering if he'd made the right choice...


	6. And you never should have

Twelve o'clock and Sonic arrived at the secret base to steal back the master emerald. To his surprise, the metal doors swished open as he approached. Unknown to him, Rouge was inside the control centre, monitoring his progress on the security cameras. Sonic raced into the building, clutching the map in front of him. _No traps so far…perhaps this Rouge character wasn't so shady after all._ His journey following the map was uneventful and soon the emerald room lay straight ahead. To think he'd told Tails it'd take him three whole minutes! He could grab the emerald, deliver it back to Knuckles and be back to the Mystic Ruins before his time was up.

He nearly collided with the robot. Eleanor flew at him from a side passage as he approached the emerald room. He shouted in surprise. Tails and Amy had insisted he take the light green chaos emerald, since Eleanor's blue one apparently enabled her to detect the presence of others. Tails was convinced that she'd go for the master emerald again and it looked like he was right. Sonic fumbled desperately at the pack on his back and drew out his chaos emerald. This had better work fast. He thrust it out towards the charging robot.

In the control centre, Rogue's attention was captivated by the master emerald, displayed multiple times on each of the video monitors. For several moments she did not notice the second signal on the radar as she gazed at the beautiful gem. She noticed how small it seemed, lying behind the protective screen in the vast empty room. Normally the room was crisscrossed with warning red laser beams though one couldn't enter without triggering silent alarms hidden in the doorframe anyway. Rouge glared down at her watch. Five minutes left _Hurry up, Sonic! _ If the security here remained inactive for five minutes more, the backup monitor would alert central headquarters and Rouge couldn't deactivate this safeguard without arousing their suspicion.

The beeping radar caught her attention. Now there were two dots dancing randomly around its circumference. She knew what that meant. Rouge punched the screen in frustration and ceased her gun.

Eleanor writhed and struggled, caught in a light beam which sapped her mobility. Sonic had learned that only a direct hit from the emerald would stop her completely and only for a few moments before she pulled free. She bore several dents owing to Sonic's successful spin dash attacks, while he had only sustained a few minor cuts and bruises. He spun towards her again, leapt - and missed. She'd pulled free from the emerald beam seconds before his attack hit. She disappeared down a corridor. Even without checking the map, Sonic knew she was headed towards the master emerald.

Rouge had entered the emerald room. She planed to cease the gem and bring it back to Sonic to ensure that the robot did not escape his attacks and reach it first. She lifted the glass and ceased the beautiful treasure. Her eyes lit up as she held it. _Gorgeous. _But why so small? On the Floating Island it'd been so massive that they'd had to hoist it away with a helicopter, now it was small enough to hold in one paw. Rouge thought back to the space colony Ark, where Knuckles had ceased the last of the emerald shards from her and restored them to the gem while she watched. It'd been smaller then too, so that it fitted into the echidna's backpack.

Perhaps being away from its sacred Island drained the emerald making it shrink in size. Thinking of this, she found herself stroking the gem as if to soothe it. She couldn't keep it now, no matter how tempted she'd been. Despite her other faults, Rouge was not cruel and she could not keep it imprisoned here, watching it slowly diminish with every passing hour.

Suddenly, she jumped at the sound of an alarm. It came from her wristwatch. She'd set it to go off thirty seconds before her timed delay ran out and the security systems reactivated. _Shoot! _ She'd have to override the security doors manually now and reach Sonic fast, before troops arrived from headquarters and caught her red handed stealing the emerald. She leapt for the door, spread her wings and soared out in search of Sonic.

Sonic had caught up with Eleanor again in a large circular room when the alarms began. Instantly, all doors closed and sealed themselves, trapping him inside with the robot. He raised the emerald to defend himself, but she had suddenly lost interest in fighting him. She raced to the opposite door, beating and scraping against it with her metal claws. Sonic winced, attempting to protect his ears from the clamour of metal scratching metal, wailing alarms and a succession of loud thumps, which drew ever nearer to the door in front of Eleanor. Holding one ear with a paw, he scowled up at the door beside him, trying to figure out a way to open it.

Across the room, the door opened abruptly and Eleanor sprang. Rouge gasped and fired her weapon thrice at the robot before it ceased her. They crashed to the floor sending Rouge's weapon skidding out of reach. Green light flashed and the robot paused, motionless. Sonic saw the master emerald clutched in Rouge's paw as she rose to her feet and reached for her gun.

"It won't hold her for long-WATCH OUT!" Sonic yelled to her over the shrieking alarms. Eleanor struggled furiously against the beam, while Sonic prepared and launched a spin dash attack. When he struck, the light winked out and both hedgehog and robot slammed against the far wall.

"We don't have time for this!" Rouge cried to Sonic. "There are twenty more doors I'll have to open manually now and security personnel will be here any minute to arrest us!"

Sonic leapt clear of the robot and turned his emerald on her again. "What!" he shouted over his shoulder at Rouge. He hadn't heard half of what she'd told him, since the alarms had drowned out the sound of her voice. Rouge sighed at him.

"We have to get out, now!" she screamed in his ear.

"Right," he returned, flattening his afflicted ear. He glanced back and forth between Eleanor, his emerald and Rogue. The robot was stretching out her claws, attempting to reach the master emerald in the bat's paws.

"I only ever did this once before! Your ready!" Sonic told Rouge as he clutched her paw.

"Huh!"

"Chaos Control!" Sonic cried, raising the light green emerald aloft. In an instant, the beam holding Eleanor merged with a bright green flash which surrounded and swallowed the trio.

Deep within the Mystic Ruins zone, the sky erupted with a flash and a pop and three figures were spat into existence above a deep wide lake. Eleanor, far less disorientated by her sudden jaunt than the Mobians, fired her engines for flight at once. Sonic and Rouge opened their eyes when the light winked out above and plummeted shrieking into the murky water. When a freezing torrent of murky water erupted upwards after them, Eleanor fled in terror.

Moments later, Sonic and Rouge surfaced, be sodden and chocking.

"That was horrible!" Rouge gasped. "Don't ever do that again!"

Sonic nodded. "Okay," he agreed. "I got us away though!"

"Thanks." Rouge exclaimed sarcastically. "Where did Eleanor get to?"

Sonic glanced around, and seeing no sign of the robot in the lake, he glanced upwards.

"There," he said, pointing to her retreating form in the sky. "I guess she doesn't like getting dunked!"

"Neither do I," Rouge growled. She irritably pushed aside a lily pad and swimming briskly, she made for the bank. Still grasped in one paw was the shimmering master emerald. Sonic shoved his own emerald back into his backpack and followed after her.


	7. Chapter 7

"YOU! Give me back my EMERALD!" Knuckles gasped, his tired eyes widening in anger and shock. _Sonic! How dare he let that bat girl get her filthy paws on the Master Emerald? How could he trust her after she'd betrayed them all? _Despite his weakened state, he tensed, ready to fight.

"It's right here, take it!" Rouge cried, proffering the emerald towards Knuckles who snatched it.

Relief washed over his face as he held it in his paws. Instantly, he seemed calm, no longer as weak or tired. The emerald, finally returned to its rightful owner, sparkled with shimmering emerald green radiance. The light flowed over the Guradian, bathing and healing his wounds. Knuckles, forgetting the others' presence for the moment, stoked the gem lovingly. Seeing that, Rouge bit her lip and shuffled her feet uneasily. Not many months ago, she'd presumptuosly assumed it was hers by right of her reputation as an infamous jewel theif. She was still captivated by its immense beauty, but she understood now that she could never truely own it, nor ever share the deep bond between the gem and its guardian.

"Well gee, Knux, you might say thank you!" Amy scolded him. Now fully restored, the echidna glared daggers at Rouge. He leapt to his feet.

"To _her_? She's the one that took it in the first place!" he roared, preparing to attack.

"Don't!" Amy wailed, bravely grabbing his arm in both paws. She gazed up at him with honest, pleading eyes.

"Let go Amy!" he growled.

"No! It's not her fault! She only stole it because of a robot, okay!" Amy squealed, struggling with the echidna.

"What robot?" he demanded, pushing her rougly aside. Amy whimpered.

"Hey, watch it, Knucklehead!" Sonic shouted, angrily.

"We'd tell you if you'd only calm down and listen!" Rouge added, scowling.

"Get out of here!" Knuckles roared at her, waving a fist under her muzzle. "You're nothing but a liar and a _theif_!

Rouge sighed, and swept out of the room. Moments later, Amy observed her outside of the hospital, kicking stones into a nearby lake.

"Why did you bring her here?" Knuckles growled at Sonic.

He shrugged, grumpily. "She wanted to come. We wouldn't have got it back without her help!"

"She wanted to appologise for taking it at all! You're not being fair, Knuckles! You wouldn't even hear her out!" Amy scolded.

"You said she took my emerald because of some robot...One of Eggman's again?"

"No. If you really want to know, Knuckles, you gotta calm down and listen properly!" Amy told him. She sat on the bed and patted a space next to her. After a pause, he chose one further away, sitting with his arms folded around the Master Emerald.

Sonic knew the tale better than Amy, so he related the details to Knuckles. He was surprised at Amy, and proud of her, the way she'd gotten Knuckles to listen. He hadn't known if she believed him and Rouge, even when she'd insisted on accompanying them. They'd stopped by Tails' base to get dry and clean, and found Amy alone in the house, watching television. Tails was eagerly working somewhere inside the caves which surrounded his home, where he had many workshops. Amy wanted the whole story behind the Master Emerald's retrieval, so they borrowed the Tornado 2 for the journey. Sonic filled her in while he flew the plane, and Rouge glided alongside. Their destination was a hospital on the Emerald Coast, where Tails had flown Knuckles the day before.

"So you gottah keep the emerald safe this time, no matter what!" Sonic said, concluding his explaination.

"I will," Knuckles affirmed, clutching his gem tightly. "I'm taking the Island to the highest, most isolated place on Mobius, beneath the Ice Cap mountains. Even if a robot can track the emerald though the montains, it will be extremely difficult to reach the Island there. And I'll be on guard day and night. I should take the chaos emeralds too."

"We need them!" Sonic cried. "Tails needs them to power the cyclone and the Tornado. And we need the green emerald to help us fight the robot!"

"If the robot gets hold of them..."

"It won't! We'll make sure of it!"

"You can count on Sonic!" Amy added, sensing Knuckles' gaze on her. She got up, and made slowly towards the door. "I'm going to find Rouge."

"It'll take time to move the whole Island," said Knuckles as Amy left. "I'll have to rely on you to keep the robot away, until I can get my emerald to saftey."

"Sure thing, Knux!" Sonic replied, staring out of the window to where Amy and Rouge were talking.

"You already completely lost track of the robot! Twice!"

"Tails is working on that. He's making something so we can track her."

"Why did he build a robot in the first place? Using Eggman's programming, using scrap parts from his robots? He should have realised the dangers."

"Yeah? Well maybe you shoulda guarded your emerald better! Eggman's always stealing that! Tails was just trying to help us! His robot's way better than any of 'botnik's."

" _Really. _It's too bad it's not on _our _side!" Knuckles returned, fixing Sonic with his stony gaze.

"It _is_!" said Sonic, stretching and heading for the door. "You need a ride back to the Island or what?"

Knuckles turned to the window where Amy and Rouge could be seen, sitting beside the lake. His frown deepened. "It's not far. I'd rather go alone."

"Later, Knux!" Sonic sighed. He swept out, leaving the door to bang closed behind him.

"Hey!" Amy called brightly, when she found Rouge beside the Tornado 2. She glanced up at the pink hedgehog.

"Don't mind Knux, he's always grouchy!" Amy continued.

"_Grouchy_? What's he like when he's _angry?_"

"Well, Sonic told me, the first time they met him on the Floating Island, Eggman had told him that Sonic and Tails were the bad guys. So when Sonic showed up in super form , Knuckles wanted his emeralds back, and-"

"Yes, I can imagine." Rouge grumbled. Her black wings flapped and she landed atop the Tornado 2's wing, where she stretched out casually on her side.

"I take it he doesn't want my help with guarding the Master Emerald?"

Amy sat herself beside the Tornado 2, dangling the tips of her shoes into the lake. "No, I guess not...it's not really his fault. You did try to steal it that time before..." she replied, watching Rouge over her sholder. "I almost thought you'd stolen it again yesterday."

Rouge's gaze suddenly seemed very interested in her left fingertips. Amy noticed that the steal claws attached to her knuckles were simular to the way Eleanor's claws had looked, when she (Amy) had seen the robot leaving Tails' base the day it escaped. Amy wondered if this was why Knuckles had mistaken Eleanor for Rouge, that dark and stormy night when she attacked.

"What changed your mind?" asked Rouge.

"Sonic believed you!"

Rouge sighed. "Can't you think for yourself?"

"I _can_!" Amy cried. "I just think he's a good judger of character." She turned away, swinging her feet over the water and gazing down at the ripples.

"You're sorta mean though. I'm on your side you know." she pouted. "Just because I admire Sonic and trust him, I'm not stupid!"

Rouge glanced up. She hadn't meant to srtike such a raw nerve. She leapt from the Tornado 2, and swept over to land next to Amy with a flutter of her leathery wings. She tried to meet the hedgehog's gaze, but Amy ignored her, watching the water. Rogue tapped the surface with the tip of her boot to send ripples lapping around Amy's toes.

"I didn't mean that. I'm just frustrated," she sighed. "I'm sorry, Amy."

"It's okay." Amy replied, smiling.

"Afternoon, ladies!" said Sonic from behind them. "Knux is going back on his own."

Rouge stood. "I'd better get back to headquaters and explain things. That's if I've not been sacked already."

"Good luck," Sonic told her. "Thanks, y'know - I'm sure that's what Knux meant to say..."

Rouge smiled back at him as she launched herself upwards. "You're welcome, Sonic," she replied. She waved goodbye with a flick of her paw before flying out of sight. Sonic returned the gesture, then turned to Amy.

"Right! Shall we go and see what Tails has been up to?" he asked, tapping the Tornado 2. She nodded eagarly, then leapt, turning a graceful somersault to land in the spare seat behind the cockpit.

"Hey Tails, you in here?" Sonic called into a cave.

"Just a minute, Sonic!" came a reply. Sonic and Amy, standing at the cave mouth, heard a sharp clang. Then there came a stanger noise, a kind of metallic sucking noise, followed by a thump. The curious sounds repeated over in rapid succession, drawing closer. The hedgehod glanced at eachother.

After a moment, the source of the noise came into view. It looked a little like the Cyclone Walker, except that the cockpit was much larger, and it seemed to be driving itself. Then Tails appeared , hovering above his new creation, with a remote control in his paws and a huge grin on his face.

"What d'you think!" he called.

"It's _cool_!" Sonic said, peering inside. Tails landed beside him, and pointed out the control bank inside.

"You see this radar? It's designed to detect the proximity of the chaos Emeralds. What's more it can identify each one by their unique wavelengths. You see, a chaos emerald can naturally sense another chaos emerald and they seem to recognise eachother. It's almost like they can communicate. You remember that fake chaos emerald I made last year?"

"Sure!" Sonic agreed.

"I tried to make a duplicate of the yellow chaos emerald, but something about it wasn't right. The real chaos emerald didn't like to be too close. It'd gradually get hotter and hotter and shoot out sparks of emerald energy. Then when Eggman started gathering the chaos emeralds to power the Eclipse Cannon, I realised the fake emerald wasn't such a faliure afterall, because we could use it against him. If it made just one emerald spark, surely more chaos emeralds would intensify the reaction, and cause an explosion in the Eclipse Cannon! Normally, the real chaos emeralds do not react so violently to eachother, but we know that when all seven are gathered together, their individual powers unite-"

"But how does this help us track your robot?" Sonic interupted.

"Well this radar can read the reactions of the yellow chaos emerald which powers the machine. Each emerald communicates with the others differently, so when Eleanor is within range, the yellow emerald will recognise her blue emerald. You'll see it as a blue mark on the radar screen. If she comes too close, it'll set off an alarm and an alert in the remote, incase she tries an attack while you're asleep or something."

"What's this do?" Amy asked, pointing to the controls beside the radar screen.

"Oh, I used those for testing the devices. You can change which emerald sets off the alarms," Tails explained.

"Well c'm on then, let's have a demonstration!" said Sonic, reaching into his backpack to draw out the green chaos emerald. Tails nodded, then began fiddling with the controls. He handed the remote to Sonic.

After a moment, a small bright light flashed on the remote and it vibrated rapidly in the hedgehog's paw. The radar sounded three piercing alarm tones, then the alert continued silently as a flashing green light across the screen. Sonic watched, grinning his approval as he casually tossed the emerald up and down in his free paw.

"It was just gonna be a hand-held device at first," Tails added, modestly. He tapped at the controls again until the alarms ceased. "But I thought, if we have to track Eleanor for a while, we'll need something to carry supplies in."

Sonic smiled supportively. "Well it's really neat and all, but how long d'you think this will take? If Rouge and me hadn't needed to leave the military base so soon..."

"She'll learn, Sonic! Next time it won't be so easy. In fact she'll probably avoid fighting too much to avoid getting any more damaged. We'll have to guard the emeralds really carefully now, because it's when we're off guard that she'll try and take them. She'll learn from your techniques, so each time she'll be harder to hit..."

"You really thought this robot building thing through, huh!" Amy lamented irritably.

"Hey, well that's cool. I can learn too y'know!" Sonic cried.

"Just be careful, Sonic," said Tails, glancing down to his feet, his fur bristling slightly and his ears slightly flattened. He kicked at the soil underfoot, disloging a stone which pinged off the side of his latest creation. Sonic gave a shrug and grinned. "Sure thing, pal!" he agreed, patting his sholders. After a pause, he nudged the troubled kitsune closer for a hug.

"Hey, it'll be okay, you hear?" he cajouled softly. Tails nodded obediantly.

"So cheer up!" Sonic cried, suddenly tickling him. Tails leapt away, giggling. Sonic turned his attention to the remote, examnining the controls. They didn't seem complicated, so he curiously poked a few of the buttons.

"How'd you get this thing to - opps!" he cried as the machine rose suddenly and raced past him, nearly trampling Amy's toes. Reacting quickly he just managed to slow it down before it careered into the cave wall. He turned it around and brought it back to heel beside him. Tails slowly uncovered his eyes.

"Son-ic!" he moaned softly.

"Sorry! So, what d'ya call this thing, eh?" Sonic replied. He counted off the names of Tails' previous inventions on his fingers. "Tornado, Cyclone...Twister?"

"More like a hurricane!" Amy grumbled, inspecting her toes for injury.

"Whatever, Sonic. Just be careful not to break it, okay?" Tails sighed.

"Sure!" Sonic exclaimed confidently. "So what are we waiting for? Let's pack our stuff and catch this robot already! You coming, Ames?"

"Yeah!" the pink hedgehog whooped in agreement, and chased after her hero as he headed towards Tails' house with the remodelled Cyclone padding along beside him.

For a moment, Tails lingered on in the cave, watching after his freinds with fearful eyes. Somewhere out there, he felt sure, Eleanore was intent on tracking down the Master Emerald, and he could only guess what might happen if she found it. With that thought, he turned and scurried back to an alcove in the cave where he stored his tools and selected a battered notebook. Subconciously tense, as though committing some dreaded task, he tucked it inside his glove so they wouldn't see it or ask about it. He knew Sonic wouldn't like the plans scrawled tentativley across its pages. Perhaps he'd even be furious if Tails actually tested these latest theories. But in the back of the kitsune's mind, a flicker something like curiousity yearned to be fulfilled. Some tiny part of his terrified mind _had_ to know if it _would_ work. He almost hoped that Sonic would _not_ destroy Eleanor so they might have to find out...

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

"Sonic?"

His ear twitched. Something soft ceased his arm and nudged. He grumbled and rolled over.

"Sonic!" the hushed voice protested. Fingers pinched his wrist.

"Mmph, what?" he muttered, his eyes scrunching up in annoyance. A paw shook his sholder.

"Wake up!" the words caught tearfully in the speaker's throat. He groaned, and rolled back over, eyes still firmly closed.

"What is it, Amy?"

"M'scared!" she quavered.

"Why, what for?" Sonic moaned. He wriggled further between the covers.

"I keep thinking I can see things moving in the shadows, and I keep thinking it might be Eleanor, and I can't go to sleep because I think that's just what she's waiting for!"

"It's not here, it'd set off the alarm."

"You wouldn 't hear it if you were asleep!" Amy snapped sulkily. Except Sonic seemed to be asleep again already. Amy glared at him, peacefully resting underneath the covers. She shivered in the night air, beginning to wonder why she'd ever left her own camp bed on the other side of the extinguished fire. Even though she couldn't sleep, at least she'd be in the warm. She certainly hadn't earned any sympathy from Sonic. She was tired and starting to feel a little angry.

When he'd had a nightmare, at least she'd cared enough to listen to his fears and comfort him with a special breakfast. She hadn't laughed at him like Tails had. She glared over to where he was sleeping, buried under his sheets. They'd talked among themselves as though she wasn' there, ignoring her as they planned their next moves as though _she_ wouldn't have any valuable suggestions. She might well have done, but no-one ever thought to ask. They just decieded whatever they wanted to do and left her behind most of the time.

It wasn't really her fault that she'd been kidnapped so many times, when nobody was there to help her when Eggman attacked. If he ever found one of the 'Sonic-and-Tails-team'alone, it never took long before the other showed up to help...well okay Tails'd had to fight Robotnik alone on the Ark, but that didn't count because Sonic'd been shot into outer space moments before.

"I bet you only let Robotnik trick you because you thought Tails was in danger!" she snapped aloud at the sleeping hedgehog. One sleepy eye snapped open.

"What?" his voice cracked with weariness.

"On the ARK! Hmph! I bet if Eleanor attacked me in the night you'd sleep right though it!" Amy whined. She stamped back to her own sleeping bag and pulled the covers sharply over her head. She didn't notice that her last comment left Sonic wide awake and suddenly worried. She'd reminded him of last night's dream and now he couldn't sleep. He got up and shook her sholder.

"Amy!"

"Go away!" she squealed. He sighed and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong, Ames?"

"You all think I'm stupid!" came the muffled reply. Sonic almost laughed out loud.

"No we don't!" he managed.

"You do! You never listen to me!"

"I'm listening now! And you got Knux to listen to yahs earlier. That was quite something, getting him to cool off!"

"It wasn't hard. You're always picking fights with him, that's why he doesn't listen to you!"

"He's always accusing me of stealing his emeralds!" Sonic protested.

"Maybe he wouldn't if you respected him more."

"I do respect him!"

"Is that why you call him a knucklehead?"

"You know I don't mean it when I say that," said Sonic. He glanced over to the small lump of Amy underneath the bedclothes. "Amy?"

"What?"

"I don't know what you meant about the Ark earlier. I wanted to help _you!_" he paused. No reaction. "I woulda given Eggman a real chaos emerald if I'd had one... Just so you'd be safe," he continued slowly, now staring at his gloved paws. Amy's covers rustled as she peeped out.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You'd have helped me get it back though, right!"

Amy nodded. To his surprise, she did not leap out and embrace him, squealing her delight, like she always did. The moment seemed to precious to ruin. For the first time they were talking, acutally properly talking , without Sonic trying to run away or make excuses not to listen. There had to be some way to make this moment last. Carefully, she crawled out to sit beside Sonic. She gently grapsed his paw. He seemed startled out of some reverie and stared down at their joined paws in wonder.

"Sonic... Do you ever think much about back when we were on the Ark?" she asked.

"Sure. Like sometimes I dream about being trapped in that space capsule, knowing it's going to explode. Sometimes I'm surrounded by chaos emeralds I can't reach, other times there's not even Tails' fake one there." he told her. He winced slightly before continuing. "Sometimes I dream I'm still trapped inside when it explodes!" he stared straight into Amy's eyes as he spoke, and she felt a cold chill of guilt creep down her spine.

"I'm sorry about what I said just now," she murmured. "About you not wanting to rescue me."

"You seemed pretty upset about something."

"I just feel left out. You never let me come anywhere with you!"

"It's dangerous. You might get hurt." Sonic replied. His paws tensed under hers.

"So why did you let me come this time?"

"Seems you get in trouble on your own too! I guess it's safer for you to tag along afterall!" he reflected, smiling slightly.

"Huh! I don't need a _babysitter!_" Amy cried, dramatising her dissapointment by dropping his paw and turning to stand with her back towards him, arms folded over her chest. "I'd stand a chance in a fight if you were there to help me! I could even help you too, y'know!"

"I didn't mean it like that. You don't know what it's like to-"

His appology was interupted by an uproar in the near distance. A terrible screaming cry which sliced though the chilly night air. Tails awoke instantly with a startled gasp, and Sonic leapt to his feet, ready to protect his freinds.

A herd of wild horses thundered into view, blundering in blind panic towards the campsite. At that same instant the alarm sounded from Tails' machine. As they drew nearer, the animals scattered messily; startled by the campfire's flames. Amy gasped in fright and backed up against Sonic as several hoofbeats barely missed trampling their shoes.

At once they realised the reason for the horses' fright when Eleanor's menacing red eyes appered among the trees in the the near distance. Amy flinched when Sonic sped from her side in persuit of the robot as the horses continued their panicked flight across the fields behind her. Tails brushed past, wordlessly ceasing the light green emerald from Sonic's backpack which he'd left behind and flew after the foolhardy hedgehog. Amy hesitated only a moment before jogging after him.

"Sonic!" Tails called out as they caught up, tossing the emerald towards him. He leapt to catch the flying gem, but Eleanor bolted upwards suddenly abandonning the fight for the safety of the skies above.

"Tails, lift us up there!" Sonic cried to the kitsune who was wistfully watching his creation glide away.

"No." he replied, softly.

"What?" Sonic grabbed his arm, pulling his gaze away from the spectacle. "What's wrong with you, we could have caught it!"

"NO, Sonic. Let her go this time, okay? She won't bother us again tonight," Tails replied slowly. He turned to head back towards the camp. Sonic shot an exasperated look over towards Amy, beseeching her to help him understand the kitsune's behaviour.

"_She_ won't bother us!" Sonic repeated, jogging after him. "I thought we were here to destroy it!"

Tails did not reply except for a slight shake of his head. Amy saw him wipe away a small tear as he brushed past her.

"She's dangerous, Tails! We can't just let her run free! Don't you want to stop her before she does any more harm?" she called after him. The mere thought of it alarmed her.

"Right!" Sonic agreed. "We've got to stop it before it attacks anyone else!"

"She only wanted the Emerald..." Tails murmured. "Knux just got in the way."

"It's his duty to guard the Emerald!" Amy scolded.

"And it's ours to guard the chaos emeralds!" Sonic added, refering to the President's orders after the disaster aboard the Space Colony Ark. "But you already sealed one inside a vicious robot! If you don't want it destroyed, what do you suggest we do? Hand over the rest and just hope it'll leave us alone?"

"No," Tails whimpered quietly, flinching at Sonic's harsh tone. He reached his sleeping bag by the campfire and pulled the covers protectively around himself. Sonic scowled at him.

"I should have done this solo all along," he muttered, ramming the light green emerald into his backpack. "Try and stay out of trouble for a while, okay?" he cried, glancing at Amy before speeding off in the direction Eleanor had taken.

Frowning angrily after him, Amy wandered over to the pile of bedclothes where Tails had taken refuge and nudged it gingerly.

"Tails? Are you all right? What happened back there?" she asked, bemused.

"It shouldn't have to be like that!" came a muffled reply. "I don't want to see anyone else get hurt...and that means Eleanor too!"

"But what else can we do? You can't just let her run wild!" Amy complained.

"If Sonic hadn't taken the light green emerald then maybe I could have trapped her for long enough to shut her down somehow," Tails replied, sulkily, after a short pause to think about it.

"You won't...just don't try to follow her alone, okay?" Amy replied, softly. "At least wait until you've got the green emerald back!"

"Sonic won't come back until he's stopped her," Tails said, solomly. Amy shook her head.

"He will, he's just ...running off some steam that's all. He'll be back in the morning, you'll see!"

"I don't know," said Tails, twisting deeper into his sleeping bag. He was starting to understand why Amy seemed to annoy Sonic so much. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep, the girl would leave him alone. He needed to plan. He needed to find Eleanore before Sonic did , or he'd never have the chance to reconcile with her.

* * *


End file.
